Baldur's Gate(tm)II: Throne of Bhaal(tm) Readme Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (tm) Release Version 2.5.26461 Contents 1. Getting Started a. System Requirements b. Installation c. Running Throne of Bhaal d. Visit the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal Web Site e. Configuration Program: Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal Config (BGConfig) 2. Manual Errata and Omissions 3. TroubleShooting a. Tweaking Performance b. Known Problems c. Updates 4. Interplay Customer Service Information (North America) 5. UK Technical Support 6. Legal Information ------------------ 1. Getting Started ------------------ 1a. System Requirements Throne of Bhaal requires an additional amount of Hard Drive space on top of the Shadows of Amn installation size. The install sizes for SoA are 750 MB for a minimum install, 1200 MB for a recommended install, and 2500 MB for a full install. Throne of Bhaal comes in either minimum or full installation sizes but the amount of additional Hard Drive space required actually depends on which installation was done for Shadows of Amn. A smaller SoA installation will result in a larger force-install of files during the Throne of Bhaal installation. Minimum System Requirements: Pentium II (or compatible) 233 MHz 32 MB RAM Windows 95/98 with DirectX 7.0 or higher 325 MB of Hard Drive space in addition to a SoA Recommended or Full install size or 560 MB of Hard Drive space in addition to a SoA Minimum install size 4X or faster CD-ROM DirectX Certified Video Card with at least 4 MB of video RAM DirectX Certified Sound Card Keyboard, Mouse Recommended System Requirements: Pentium II (or compatible) 400 MHz or faster 64 MB RAM 705 MB of Hard Drive space in addition to a SoA Recommended or Full install size or 940 MB of Hard Drive space in addition to a SoA Minimum install size 8X (or faster) CD-ROM 3D video card (optional - for use with 3D spell and background effects) Multiplayer Minimum: Pentium II (or compatible) 233 MHz or faster 64 MB RAM (64 MB for the Server/Game Host for 2 people, for more than 2 people - 128 MB RAM for the Server/Game Host) 1500 MB of Hard Drive Space (325 MB for a minimum Throne of Bhaal install, plus 1200 MB for a recommended BGII install) Cache Size of 300 MB minimum. 8X (or faster) CD-ROM 3D video card (optional - for use with 3D spell and background effects) Windows NT 4.0,Windows 2000, and Windows ME: Although Windows NT 4.0,Windows 2000, and Windows ME are not Supported in an official capacity, Throne of Bhaal can be run correctly under Windows NT 4.0 if the following conditions are met: You will need at least 64 MB of RAM and must have NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 installed. If you wish to run multiplayer, then Service Pack 4 is required. Slow downs during gameplay have been reported under NT. These are due to the way that Direct Sound and the System Timers interact. This may be corrected in future versions of Windows NT. We have done moderate testing under Windows 2000 and Windows ME and Throne of Bhaal does generally work correctly. The primary compatibility issues involve driver support - check to make sure that you are always using the most recent drivers for your hardware. In general, Throne of Bhaal works very well in Windows 2000 and Windows ME. 1b. Installation You MUST have Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn installed to play Throne of Bhaal. If you have uninstalled Baldur's Gate II and want to install Throne of Bhaal, you must first reinstall BGII: SoA and then install Throne of Bhaal. Insert the Throne of Bhaal CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and follow the onscreen instructions. If your Autorun is disabled, find the baldur.exe application in the root your CD-ROM and double click to launch the Installer. During the Throne of Bhaal installation, you may be asked to insert CD2 from Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. This step is needed in order to copy required data from that CD. Minimum Install versus Full install: A minimum install represents the base information required to be on the hard drive to play. A full install includes more information than a minimum install, resulting in smoother performance. For example, some character voices and monster animations are stored on the hard drive in a full install, which speeds up game performance. You must leave the CD in the drive at all times when playing with a minimum install. Note: DO NOT install the BGII patch AFTER you have installed Throne of Bhaal. All of the patch fixes have already been added into Throne of Bhaal. This will not affect previously patched BGII. 1c. Running Baldur's GateII: Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal If you use the default installation settings for Baldur's Gate II, it will be installed in a 'Black Isle Studios' Program Group in your Start menu. You can edit this start menu location during installation if you so choose. You have several options for your party once Throne of Bhaal is installed. If you have yet to defeat Irenicus in Shadows of Amn you may wish to journey to the south (on your BG2:SoA map) and take your chances in the dungeon of Watcher's Keep. If you have already finished off Irenicus and completed Shadows of Amn, you are now able to begin the final chapter in the Bhaal saga, with all new areas on a brand new map, including Watcher's Keep (north corner of the BG2:ToB map). We have included the new area of Watcher's Keep on both maps so that if you did not finish it in Shadows of Amn, you can do so in Throne of Bhaal. Important Notes: Multiplayer with Throne of Bhaal: Multiplayer games must exclusively use Throne of Bhaal. Games in which some players have ToB installed and some do not, are not possible. If you wish to use Gamespy(c) to play multiplayer, you can find other ToB players online at www.GameSpy.com Override directory: Installing Throne of Bhaal will replace many of the contents of your override directory. Some items like character portraits and sounds will be left intact, but you run the risk of losing any hacked or otherwise modified files. 1d. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal Web Pages If there is anything that you are having problems with or cannot find in the manual, stop by the Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal Web Pages at http://www.interplay.com/bgate2/ and http://www.interplay.com/bg2throne/ respectively. Additionally, you may be able to find an answer for whatever questions you might have on the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal message boards at: http://www.blackislestudios.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?category=3 People from both BioWare and Black Isle frequent the boards, providing advice and assistance to users. 1e. Configuration Program: Baldur's Gate II Config (BGConfig) There is a new look to the Config program, along with some newly added options that can be set. 1) Automated Speed Adjustment settings automatically compensate for periods where frame rates drop by turning certain graphic and audio features off. These can be customized to your specifications in the `Gameplay->Speed Adjustment' section. 2) Additional Function Listing for hot-key assignment in the `Hot Keys->Function List' section. 3) Extra Feedback toggle that displays in-game the orders given to characters in the dialogue window in the `Gameplay->Visual' section. 4) Map Screen Pause toggle that can set the game to be paused or not while in the map screen. While not paused the character feedback circles can be seen moving on the map screen. The toggle is found in the `Gameplay->Visual' section. 5) Hard Pause key (Hot key tab) that if pressed will only initiate a game pause but will not be able to unpause. 6) Subtitles for the movies can now be toggled on and off in the `Gameplay->Visual' section. ------------------------------ 2. Manual Errata and Omissions ------------------------------ Pressing the TAB key ingame can be used to highlight doors, containers, and ground piles. Barbarian resistances stop improving after level 20. Page 11 High-Level Character Abilities Avoid Death should give a +5 bonus to save vs. death. Page 12 High-Level Character Abilities Enhanced Bard Song gives a +4 to hit, +4 to damage, a +4 to AC, immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion, +5% magic resistance and immunity to normal weapons. Evasion gives a +4 bonus to AC and +2 to all saving throws. Greater Evasion gives a +6 to AC and +3 to all saving throws. Page 17 Mage Spells - Level 2 Chaos Shield has a duration of 5 rounds +10 rounds/5 levels. Page 20 Mage Spells - Level 10 Energy Blades gives a +10 to THAC0 and does 1D4+5 points of damage as well as 1D10 additional electrical damage. Summon Dark Planetar has a duration of 4 rounds +1 round/level. Summon Planetar has a duration of 4 rounds +1/level. Page 21 Priest Spells - Quest Level Aura of Flaming Death provides 90% fire resistance and grants a +4 AC bonus. The damage suffered to an opponent that hits the caster is 2D10+2. Page 22 Priest Spells - Quest Level Mass Raise Dead brings up to 5 party members back to life and heals 3D10+1 per level. Page 23 Priest Spells - Quest Level Summon Deva has a duration of 4 rounds +1/level. Page 23 Priest Spells - Quest Level Summon Fallen Deva has a duration of 4 rounds +1/level. Page 26 Experience Point Charts: Warrior and Barbarian Experience Levels Level 10 Hit Dice/Special Abilities (d10) should read 9+3 Level 11 Hit Dice/Special Abilities (d10) should read 9+6. Page 41 Additional Interplay Quality Assurance Doug Finch Project Supervisor GJ Ramirez Senior Tester Seth Baker Tester Robert Evenger Tester Brendan Johnson Tester James Pyle Tester John Boomershine Tester ------------------ 3. TroubleShooting ------------------ 3a. Tweaking Performance Increasing Performance: Automated Speed Adjustment settings. With this option set, the game automatically compensates for drops in frame rates by turning certain graphic and audio features off. These would be also automatically turned back on with a rise in frame rates. The automated speed adjustment settings can be customized to your specifications in the `Gameplay->Speed Adjustment' section in the config program. Translucent Shadows. In the options menu under 'Graphics', turn off translucent shadows. Turning this off will cause all shadows to appear solid, rather than blending a dark shadow onto the background which will be faster. Character Movement Sounds. In the options menu under 'Sound/Character Sound', turn off Character Movement Sounds. Turning off this option will increase the speed of the game. Other Audio. Turning off any of the audio may result in a performance increase. Moving the sliders in the options menu under 'Sound' all the way to the left will completely disable the playing of these sounds and should increase gameplay speed. For slower machines this can be a good compromise in order to maintain framerate. When running TCP/IP multiplayer, the host should always be the one with the fastest connection (i.e. broadband connection rather than dialup). This should improve multiplayer speed performance. Virtual Memory. Note: WE DO NOT RECOMMEND ADJUSTING YOUR VIRTUAL MEMORY unless you fully understand how virtual memory affects your computer. Baldur's Gate II will eagerly use up any Virtual Memory (hard drive) and non-Virtual Memory (RAM) you allocate to it. If you choose to add more memory to your system, or increase the size of your Windows swap file, the game speed MAY increase. However, as you increase your Virtual Memory, expect longer clearing times to remove this 'Virtual Memory' from the hard drive after the game is terminated. Things that will Decrease Performance: Brightness/Contrast. Adjusting the default settings for these options (located in the options menu under 'Graphics') will result in a performance hit. If you find the game is too dark, we suggest adjusting your monitors brightness first, and adjusting the brightness slider second. DirectX(tm) Hardware Calls. In the options menu under 'Graphics' there are three toggles for various 'BLTS'. Enabling these will result in a (sometimes drastic) performance hit. We recommend enabling these only if you have graphics glitches that you have been unable to resolve. Sometimes turning one of these settings on can actually IMPROVE performance - this usually occurs only if your video card drivers are not 100% DirectX(tm) compliant. You can check if your video card drivers are DirectX(tm) compliant by running the DirectX(tm) Diagnostic tool (DXDiag) that should be installed by the Microsoft(r) installer for DirectX(tm) when you install DirectX(tm). Running the game in Windowed Mode. Running the game in a Window on your desktop will decrease the overall game performance. Hard Drive Defragmentation. You should regularly defragment your hard drive, as fragmentation can result in poor performance. Pathing Performance: To increase the path searching AI, the following entry can either be directly modified in the baldur.ini file that is installed in the root of the installation directory, or changed using the configuration program: [Program Options] Path Search Nodes=4000 To increase or decrease the AI, vary the number of Nodes (4000 above). The range can vary from 4000 to 400,000. Increasing the number above will increase the number of nodes in path searching with the possibility of slowing down the functioning of the game. Increasing the number of search nodes can significantly improve pathfinding. There is also an enhanced pathfinding option that, when activated, improves pathing, but at a performance cost. We recommend you only turn on enhanced pathfinding if you have an above average machine. 3b. Known Problems With some 3D cards when starting a modem-to-modem game, there is a possibility that the Dialup and Receive popups will not show up properly. All NVIDIA cards will crash if using older drivers (6.31) when assigning keys from within game, in 3d Accelerated mode. The newest drivers (6.5) correct this problem. Environmental audio has caused problems on certain sound card/driver combinations. The Creative SB Live! Value 4.11.01.0711 combo has experienced muted combat and spell casting sounds with Environmental audio enabled. Certain enemies in the game are immune to timestop. This is by design. Certain programs running in the background or system tray will cause conflicts with Bg2:ToB. These include applications that require network resources. Multiple modem drivers will sometimes not allow you to host a modem to modem game. If you do not get a "Receive" option after loading a game, remove the drivers that are not in use so that only the modem you are using to connect/host with is installed. To do this, go to the Start Menu, Settings, Control Panel, then double click on Modems. A window with the installed modems should then pop up. Now one by one, highlight the modems that are not in use, then click remove. Note, there should only be one modem left. Restart your machine, then try to host once again. YOU SHOULD NOT BE DIALED UP TO AN ISP IF YOU ARE PLAYING A MODEM TO MODEM GAME. If you do not successfully install BGII SoA, then attempt to install BGII ToB, you will not be able to uninstall/reinstall BGII SoA or BGII ToB. To verify that you've successfully installed BGII SoA, you should have seen a preview movie for either Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights, then there should be a window stating "Congratulations, you have successfully installed BGII SoA". In addition, you should also be able to play BGII SoA without seeing the message "The last time you attempted to install BGII SoA, an error occurred. Please click on Install immediately." If this is the case, simply click on Install and the game should install once again. VooDoo cards - Alt-Tabing with 3D acceleration on may cause a "SetPixelFormat failed" error message. By pressing Alt-F4 will cause the "Do you really want to quit" message. Press "No" and the game will continue as normal. In a multiplayer game if a client uses Polymorph Self and shape changes he will get stuck in that form if someone else hits the rest button. This will not occur to the host or in single player. Windows2K users may have problems playing multiplayer over IPX. If a player attempts to join a ToB multiplayer game, but then cancels out on either the password or player name input screens, they will be returned to the main ToB menu at which point they will only see SoA save games listed (both for mulitiplayer and single player). To resolve this, the player must quit out of BG2 and restart, and they will once again see their ToB save games listed. In a similar case, if a player joins a SoA multiplayer game and then quits out of it to start a ToB multiplayer game, there is a small possibility that this might start a SoA multiplayer game instead. Again, the solution is to restart BG2. Under Windows 95b, it has been noticed that the autorun screen may pop up again at the very start of installation (both with ToB and SoA). This is most likely due to the CD-ROM spinning up again, initiating the CD autorun. If this happens just click EXIT on this second autorun popup and proceed with the installation as you normally would. In rare instances, the file Baldur.ini will be accidentally set to Read-only during the game's installation. To resolve this, simply right-click on it and select Properties. In the Properties pop-up, uncheck the Read-only checkbox. You will then be able to edit Baldur.ini. For an updated list of known problems, visit: http://www.bioware.com/bgate2/bg2issues.shtml 3c. Updates If necessary, patches may become available for the product that add functionality or correct bugs. These updated versions will be made available at the Interplay site at http://www.interplay.com or you can connect directly to the Baldur's Gate Files directory by clicking on the 'Update' button in the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal AutoRun. ------------------------------------------ 4. Interplay Customer Service Information ------------------------------------------ ***This information is only valid in North America*** TECHNICAL SUPPORT TROUBLESHOOTING DOCUMENTS ONLINE! Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support now offers troubleshooting guides with complete installation and setup instructions as well as information that will help you overcome the most common difficulties. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can find these at: www.interplay.com/support/ Here you will find troubleshooting information on as well as information on regular system maintenance and performance. DirectX www.interplay.com/support/directx/ Joysticks www.interplay.com/support/joystick/ Modems and Networks www.interplay.com/support/modem/ (For game-specific information and additional troubleshooting, visit our main page at www.interplay.com) If you have questions about the program, our Technical Support Department can help. Our web site contains up-to-date information on the most common difficulties with our products, and this information is the same as that used by our product support technicians. We keep the product support pages updated on a regular basis, so please check here first for no-wait solutions: www.interplay.com/support/ If you are unable to find the information you need on our web site, please feel free to contact Technical Support via e-mail, phone, fax, or letter. Please be sure to include the following information in your e-mail message, fax, or letter: Title of Game Computer manufacturer * Operating system (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98, etc.) CPU type and speed in MHz Amount of RAM Sound card type and settings (address, IRQ, DMA) Video card CD-ROM Mouse driver and version Joystick and game card (if any) A copy of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files from your hard drive. A description of the problem you're having. If you need to talk to someone immediately, call us at (949) 553-6678 Monday through Thursday between 8:00AM-5:45PM, and on Friday between 9:00AM-4:45PM Pacific Standard Time with 24 hours, 7 days a week support available through the use of our automated wizard. Please have the above information ready when you call. This will help us answer your question in the shortest possible time. When you call you will initially be connected with our automated wizard. For information pertaining to your specific title, press "1" on the main menu and listen carefully to all prompts. All titles are listed alphabetically. After you have selected your title, the most common difficulties will be listed. If the difficulty you are having is not listed or you need additional assistance, you may press "0" on your games main menu, and you will be transferred to a Technical Support Representative. No hints or codes are available from this line. You must call Interplay's HINT Line for hints, tips, or codes at 1-900-370-PLAY (1-900-451-6869 $1.25 in Canada only). You must be 18 years +, have a touch-tone phone, and the cost is $0.95 per minute. Interplay Entertainment Corp. Support Fax: (949) 252-2820 Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support 16815 Von Karman Avenue Irvine, CA 92606 HOW TO REACH US ONLINE INTERNET E-MAIL: support@interplay.com WORLD WIDE WEB: www.interplay.com FTP: ftp.interplay.com ------------------------ 5. UK Technical Support ------------------------ ***This information is only valid in the United Kingdom*** TECHNICAL SUPPORT Thank you for purchasing this product. If you are experiencing difficulties with this title, please take advantage of the following product support. Please note that all our operators only speak English and that we are unable to give gameplay hints through our Technical Support number. Technical Support : 0207 551 4266 Fax: 0207 551 4267 email: customer_support@vie.co.uk (please use the game title as your subject heading) World Wide Web : www.vie.co.uk and www.interplay.com Address : Customer Services Department Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe) Ltd. 74a Charlotte Street London W1T 4QN Please note that our Customer Services department is open between the hours of 10am - 6pm with limited support offered between 1-3pm. As mentioned, all of our operators only speak English. If you are calling from abroad, please contact the relevant office in your territory. Virgin Interactive also provide a fully automated technical support system, which provides help on our most popular titles 24 hours a day. This service is available through our main number above and is the only service available after our offices have closed. This service is NOT charged at a premium rate. In the unlikely event of an immediate software fault please return the complete package, with your receipt, to the original place of purchase. If you do telephone, please be sitting in front of your computer (if possible) and be sure to provide us with as much information as possible. Make sure to note the exact type of hardware that you are using in your system, including: * Speed and Manufacturer of your Processor. (Intel, AMD etc..) * Make & Model of your Sound Card. (Creative Labs etc..) * Make & Model of your Video Card. (Ge Force, 3DFX etc..) * Make & Model of your CD-ROM drive. (Panasonic, Creative etc..) * Amount of RAM present. (64mb, 128mb etc..) * Any additional Hardware and Peripherals. (Webcams, Scanners etc..) * Information contained in your Config.Sys & Autoexec.Bat files. * Direct X information* *To obtain information relating to Direct X* on your system, simply click on Start and then Run. Next, type in DXDIAG in the open box and then click OK to bring up the Diagnostics window. You should be primarily interested in the information concerning your Sound card and Display (video) card. A copy of your DXDIAG information at hand is also useful. Note: If you have any problems in obtaining any System Information please consult your System supplier. It is extremely important that you have the information above at hand when you call. Virgin Interactive cannot give you this information entirely on the basis of you telling us which system you have, as you will often find that different configurations are used when building the same model of PC and there are many models of PC available. HELP VIA FAX: When sending us a fax, please remember to leave your fax machine switched on and ready to receive. If you are using a Telephone/Fax system please make sure that the Fax connection is enabled. Ensure to include your name, a return fax number with the area code and a voice number so we can contact you if we experience problems when trying to fax you back. HELP VIA EMAIL: When sending us an email, please use only the title of the game in question in your subject header as words like "help" or empty spaced will often be met with a generic, automated response. HELP VIA POST: When contacting us by post, ensure you include the Title & Version of the game, a detailed description of the problem you are experiencing and the exact type of hardware that you are using as detailed above. HINTS AND TIPS: As mentioned earlier, no hints and tips will be given by our Customer Services Department we are here to try and help you resolve technical problems with your product. Hints and tips are available for our most popular titles and details to obtain these are normally printed on the box, packaging or in the rear or customer support section of your manual. Please check before calling us. --------------------- 6. Legal Information --------------------- SOFTWARE USE LIMITATIONS AND LIMITED LICENSE GENERAL PRODUCT LICENSE. This copy of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (the Software) is intended solely for your personal noncommercial home entertainment use. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Software, except as permitted by law. Interplay Entertainment Corp. and BioWare Corp. retain all right, title and interest in the Software including all intellectual property rights embodied therein and derivatives thereof. The Software, including, without limitation, all code, data structures, characters, images, sounds, text, screens, game play, derivative works and all other elements of the Software may not be copied, resold, rented, leased, distributed (electronically or otherwise), used on pay-per-play, coin-op or other for-charge basis, or for any commercial purpose. Any permissions granted herein are provided on a temporary basis and can be withdrawn by Interplay Entertainment Corp. at any time. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. MODEM AND NETWORK PLAY. If the Software contains modem or network play, you may play the Software via modem transmission with another person or persons directly without transmission through a third party service or indirectly through a third party service only if such service is an authorized licensee of Interplay. For the purposes of this license, a third party service refers to any third party service which provides a connection between two or more users of the Software, manages, organizes, or facilitates game play, translates protocols, or otherwise provides a service which commercially exploits the Software, but does not include a third party service which merely provides a telephonic connection (and nothing more) for modem or network play. Authorized licensee services are listed on the Interplay World Wide Web Site located at http://www.interplay.com. This limited right to transmit the Software expressly excludes any transmission of the Software or any data streams thereof on a commercial basis, including, without limitation, transmitting the Software by way of a commercial service (excepting those specific commercial services licensed by Interplay) which translates the protocols or manages or organizes game play sessions. If you would like information about obtaining a pay-for-play or commercial license to the Software, please call Interplay Entertainment Corp. in the US at +(949) 553-6655. ACCEPTANCE OF LICENSE TERMS. By acquiring and retaining this Software, you assent to the terms and restrictions of this limited license. If you do not accept the terms of this limited license, you must return the Software together with all packaging, manuals and other material contained therein to the store where you acquired the Software for a full refund. =============================================================== BALDUR'S GATE II: THRONE OF BHAAL Developed and (c)2001 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Shadows of Amn, Tales of the Sword Coast, Forgotten Realms, the Forgotten Realms logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the AD&D logo, TSR and the TSR logo, and the Wizards of the Coast logo, are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used by Interplay Entertainment Corp. under license. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are the trademarks of BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Entertainment Corp. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. ================================================================= Baldur's Gate(tm)II: Shadows of Amn(tm) Readme and Control Guide Contents 1. Getting Started a. System Requirements b. Installation c. Registering Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn d. Running Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn e. Configuration Program - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Config f. Visit the Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Web Site 2. How to Play the Game and Advanced Information 3. Manual Errata and Omissions 4. TroubleShooting a. Tweaking Performance b. Known Problems c. 3D Compatibility d. Multiplayer 5. Interplay Customer Service Information (North America) 6. Legal Information ------------------ 1. Getting Started ------------------ 1a. System Requirements Required: Pentium II (or compatible) 233 MHz 32 MB RAM Windows 95/98 with DirectX 7.0 or higher 750 MB of Hard Drive Space 4X or faster CD-ROM DirectX Certified Video Card with at least 4 MB of video RAM DirectX Certified Sound Card Keyboard, Mouse Recommended: Pentium II (or compatible) 400 MHz or faster 64 MB RAM 1200 MB (or more) of Hard Drive Space 8X (or faster) CD-ROM 3D video card (optional - for use with 3D spell and background effects) Multiplayer Minimum: Pentium II (or compatible) 233 MHz or faster 64 MB RAM (64 MB for the Server/Game Host for 2 people, for more than 2 people - 128 MB RAM for the Server/Game Host) 1200 MB (or more) of Hard Drive Space - Recommended Install or Full install is needed. Cache Size of 300 MB minimum. 8X (or faster) CD-ROM 3D video card (optional - for use with 3D spell and background effects) Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000: Although Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 are not supported in an official capacity, Baldur's Gate II can be run correctly under Windows NT 4.0 if the following conditions are met: You will need at least 64 MB of RAM and must have NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 installed. If you wish to run multiplayer, then Service Pack 4 is required. Slow downs during gameplay have been reported under NT. These are due to the way that Direct Sound and the System Timers interact. This may be corrected in future versions of Windows NT. We have done moderate testing under Windows 2000 and Baldur's Gate II does generally work correctly. The primary compatibility issues involve driver support - check to make sure that you are always using the most recent drivers for your hardware. In general, Baldur's Gate II works very well in Windows 2000. Windows Millennium During development we have had limited opportunity to test Baldur's Gate II fully under Windows Millennium since its commercial availability will happen after Baldur's Gate II has been released. In spite of this we have made our best efforts to make sure Baldur's Gate II is compatible with Windows Millennium. We have been able to test the game with early release copies of Windows Millennium and found that it works well. We will quickly address any problems that do arise with compatibility between Windows Millennium and Baldur's Gate II, if any. Higher Resolutions Baldur's Gate II has the capability to support resolutions beyond the standard 800x600. Please note that these resolutions are not officially supported, but they do function well enough to play if you choose to do so. There are two methods possible to set an increased resolution. You can open the Baldur.ini file with a standard text viewer, such as Notepad, and find the line entitled Resolution. You can manually change the resolution to 1024 (for 1024x768), 1280 (for 1280x1024), 1600 (for 1600x1200) and to 2048 (for 2048x1600). Or, you can unlock the special section of the Graphics Selection of the BG Config program and set the new resolution inside the config. The added benefit of this method is that BG Config will test the mode to see if it is available on your computer. Again we recommend against choosing these unsupported resolutions unless you have a very powerful system featuring a high memory video card. Problems you will see in unsupported high resolutions include slowdowns and in-game cut scene abnormalities. 1b. Installation Insert the CD-ROM labeled Baldur's Gate II Disc 1 into your CD-ROM drive and follow the onscreen instructions. If your CD Autorun is disabled, find the Baldur.exe application in the root of the CD labeled Disc 1 and double click to launch the Installer. After installing Baldur's Gate II, you will have the option to install DirectX 7.0. If you do not have DirectX 7.0 or higher, you must install it. Baldur's Gate 2 requires DirectX 7 or greater to play the game. Future versions of DirectX might have driver updates which will make Baldur's Gate II run better on your system. However, Baldur's Gate II only requires DirectX 7.0. Compact install versus recommended install: A compact install represents the base information required to be on the hard drive to play. A recommended install includes more information than a compact install, resulting in smoother performance. For example, some character voices and monster animations are stored on the hard drive in a recommended install, which speeds up game performance. You must leave the CD in the drive at all times when playing with a compact install. You may have to reinsert CD's at times with a recommended install, but this should be less frequent than in the minimum install. Note on Full Installations: Windows 95 does not correctly report the free space on hard drive partitions larger that 2 Gigs. Because of this, you may get an "insufficient disk space" error if you decide to install everything from the CDs in Windows 95, even if you do have the disk space available. To bypass this, just choose to "install anyway" when you receive this error and installation will proceed correctly. This problem does not occur with Windows 98. A full install will only require a CD to be in the drive when you start the game (for anti-piracy purposes). 1c. Registering Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn with Black Isle Studios Please take a few moments to fill out the Electronic Registration for Baldur's Gate II. Your feedback will make you eligible for special offers and promotions, and it also provides us with information we need in order to make better games. We'd appreciate your time. Please note that to electronically register you will need both an internet connection and a browser installed. If you lack either, you will not be able to register BG2 electronically. 1d. Running Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn If you use the default installation settings for Baldur's Gate II, it will be installed in a 'Black Isle' Program Group in your Start menu. You can edit this start menu location during installation if you so choose. 1e. Configuration Set-Up: Baldur's Gate II Config (BGConfig) One program of note in your game directory is the Baldur's Gate II Config utility. This application will allow you to assign various hotkeys for the game, as well as set performance options. BGConfig.exe can be found on the Autorun Menu, within the Black Isle\BGII-SOA program group on the Start Menu and in the Baldur's Gate II root directory. Once executed, the BGConfig program presents the user with five areas of choice: You are first presented with a choice of difficulty level. You must make a choice to proceed - there is accompanying text that explains the different levels. The Basic Configuration tab allows users to quickly match the capabilities of their system with our recommended performance levels and features. It consists of a number of sliders that can be manipulated. It also allows you to set the difficulty level of your game - please note the difficulty can be modified while you play the game in the Gameplay portion of the Options screen. You also can make the choice for 3D support on this page. The Hotkeys option allows you to set various Key Configurations for Baldur's Gate II. Information on Hotkeys is found in section 2.0, "How to play the game." The Gameplay options allow you to change a number of advanced features of the game - these features are also modified by the sliders in the Basic Configuration section. It is advisable to modify these options only if you are an advanced user. The Graphics Configuration tab contains more details on system configuration including details regarding 3D support. There is extensive documentation available in this section to help the more sophisticated user work through the various detailed configuration options. Accompanying Baldur's Gate 2 is a document entitled powerusers.txt that discusses many of the advanced features of the game. Baldur's Gate II uses OpenGL for its 3D hardware acceleration. You can choose to use 3D support in the basic configuration menu, but to modify specific 3D features you should check the Graphics tab. 1f. Baldur's Gate II Web Page If you continue to have problems, stop by the Baldur's Gate II Web Page at http://www.interplay.com/bgate2. Aside from cool game materials, you may be able to find an answer for whatever question you might have on the Baldur's Gate II message boards. People from both BioWare and Black Isle frequent the boards, providing advice and assistance to users. ------------------------------------------------ 2. How to Play the Game and Advanced Information ------------------------------------------------ The mouse is the tool primarily used to maneuver through the interfaces in Baldur's Gate II. Placing your mouse over a button or item will bring up a tool tip describing the item's name or the button's function. Below is a list of default hotkey commands that can be used as shortcuts in Baldur's Gate II. Of note are the "Hide Interface" keys. BG 2's features include the ability to modify the game-world graphical user interface (GUI) arrangement. Side panels, and even the lower panel can be removed, depending on your preference. Here are the default hotkeys: Pause Game (very important!)=space bar Back one level in interface=ESC Inventory=I Character Record=R Return To Game=G Journal=J Map=M Wizard/Sorcerer Spells=W Priest/Druid Spells=P Options=O Hide/Unhide Entire Interface=H Hide/Unhide Right Interface=U Hide/Unhide Left Interface=Y Chat Window=T (multiplayer only) Location=X (gives X,Y coordinates of the particular area your party is in) Quick Save=Q Toggle party AI on/off=A You can modify these key bindings using the Hotkeys tab in BGConfig. Quick Save: At any time during play you can press 'Q' on the keyboard to save the game. This 'quick' save is always saved in the same slot and will overwrite itself. Using the Quick Save will not touch any of your other save games. You can also enable a Quick Load key in the config program to load your quick saves if you so choose (this is off by default). Party Order: To change the order of the characters in your party, drag and drop their character portraits to exchange them in the party order. For example, to switch the order of "Char1" and "Char2," left click on Char1, continue to hold down the mouse button and move the cursor over the portrait of Char2. Release the mouse button and Char1 and Char2 will change places. Items in the Game World: If you leave items on the ground in the game world, they will disappear after a period of time (with a few special items as exceptions). Bodies will begin to decay from the world after about half a day. Items will begin to decay from the world after a day or two. Some game critical items will never decay. If you want to stash items, put them inside any container. For example; a chest, bookshelf, or box. All container contents (with the exceptions of piles of treasure on the ground) are saved for the duration of the game - just be sure you can easily return to retrieve your favorite goodies. Custom Portraits: The measurements for player portraits are 38X60 pixels for the smaller portraits (8-bit color runs faster but it can be up to 24 bit color), and 110X170 pixels for the larger portraits. To use a custom portrait, place it in the Portraits directory (in the install directory for the game) and add an S to the end of the small portrait name and an L to the end of the large portrait - otherwise the two names must be identical. The names must be 1-7 letters long, maximum - so the filename with the S or L added to the end is no longer than 8 total characters. The portrait files must be in BMP format. For example: XXXXXXXS.bmp for small (38x60, 8-bit) XXXXXXXL.bmp for large (110x170, 24-bit) For multiplayer, each player must have a copy of the portraits, otherwise they will see a blank icon instead of the other player's custom portraits. You will need to manually send these portraits to your friends as BG2 has no method of transferring them. Custom Sound files: The following is a list of the WAV files for the custom sound sets. The list has been increased and modified since Baldur's Gate, so if you already have a custom sound set you will need to update it to match the current format. Replace each 'XXXXXXX' in the filenames with the name of the sound set (MAX 7 CHARACTERS in XXXXXXX, plus one character as noted below for a total of 8 letters). All the WAV files should be 22 khz, 16 bit mono sounds. Copy the WAV files to the Sounds directory located in the directory that Baldur's Gate II was installed in, and then select this sound set either in character creation or in the "Customize" button off of the Character Record page. For multiplayer, merely send your custom sounds to all of the people you are playing with and have them copy them to the Sounds directory. If you have installed the sounds to your character in your game, everyone will hear your sounds once they copy them into the correct directory. XXXXXXXa.wav : Battle Cry XXXXXXXb.wav : Becoming Leader XXXXXXXc.wav : Tired XXXXXXXd.wav : Bored XXXXXXXe.wav : Badly Wounded XXXXXXXf.wav : Selected 1 XXXXXXXg.wav : Selected 2 XXXXXXXh.wav : Selected 3 XXXXXXXi.wav : Action Acknowledgement 1 XXXXXXXj.wav : Action Acknowledgement 2 XXXXXXXk.wav : Action Acknowledgement 3 XXXXXXXl.wav : Being Hit XXXXXXXm.wav : Dying XXXXXXXn.wav : In Forest XXXXXXXo.wav : In City XXXXXXXp.wav : In Dungeon XXXXXXXq.wav : Daytime XXXXXXXr.wav : Nighttime XXXXXXXs.wav : Action Acknowledgement 4 XXXXXXXt.wav : Action Acknowledgement 5 XXXXXXXu.wav : Action Acknowledgement 6 XXXXXXXv.wav : Action Acknowledgement 7 XXXXXXXw.wav : Reaction to Party Member Death XXXXXXXx.wav : Rare Select 1 XXXXXXXy.wav : Rare Select 2 XXXXXXXz.wav : Critical Hit Given XXXXXXX1.wav : Critical Miss XXXXXXX2.wav : Target Immune XXXXXXX3.wav : Inventory Full XXXXXXX4.wav : Successfully Picked A Pocket XXXXXXX5.wav : Successfully Hid In shadows XXXXXXX6.wav : Spell Disrupted XXXXXXX7.wav : Set A Trap XXXXXXX8.wav : Battle Cry 2 XXXXXXX9.wav : Battle Cry 3 XXXXXXX0.wav : Selected 6 XXXXXXX_.wav : Action Acknowledgement 8 IMPORTING CHARACTERS AND SAVED GAMES In Baldur's Gate II you are able to import characters and saved games from Baldur's Gate or from the expansion pack, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast. Even if you have uninstalled Baldur's Gate 1, you will still be able to access your old save games and characters, UNLESS you have manually deleted these files. There will also be pre-made characters that you can use if you do not want to go through character generation. These represent a broad selection of popular character types that the newcomer to the genre will enjoy playing. Characters can be imported using either of the following methods: 1) by extracting characters from an existing save game OR 2) by importing the character files (CHR files) directly. To import a character from a saved game (either from Baldur's Gate, Tales of the Sword Coast, or Baldur's Gate II) copy the save directory into the directory entitled SAVE in the Baldur's Gate II root directory. Then, begin Baldur's Gate II, start a new game, choose the import option at the bottom of the screen and follow the instructions. To import a character from a character file (either from Baldur's Gate, Tales of the Sword Coast, or Baldur's Gate II) copy the character file (xxxxxxxx.CHR) into the directory entitled CHARACTERS in the Baldur's Gate II root directory. Then, begin Baldur's Gate II, start a new game, choose the import option at the bottom of the character generation screen and follow the instructions. Importing a character that uses a custom portrait requires that you either choose a portrait from among the existing portraits or re-import your custom portrait by placing the portraits in the directory entitled PORTRAITS found in the root directory of Baldur's Gate2. After you've chosen a portrait hit DONE to continue the character selection. You can import hacked characters into Baldur's Gate 2, however their experience will be capped to the maximum possible gained from Tales of the Sword coast. Modal actions for characters: If your AI button is turned ON you may notice your character's modal abilities turn OFF occasionally. Modal abilities are those abilities that you can turn on and leave on (e.g. thieves' detect traps mode). These modes can be turned off when a script action occurs for that character. If this is causing problems for you, you can either select "None" as the script for your character or click the "AI on/off" button (on the main game screen at the lower right to the left of the select all button) to toggle this. BG2 Script Compiler Baldur's Gate 2 ships with a Script Compiler, this is a BETA quality program that advanced users can try out to enhance their BG2 experience. The program, along with documentation, is installed to the Hard Drive in a directory called Scriptcompile. The To-Hit Roll: If you have turned on 'To-Hit Rolls' in your Feedback settings, the game will display the rolls on each attack. The roll will display: X + Y = Z Where X = base to hit roll (1-20) Y = any bonuses/penalties to hit Z = total to hit roll Y is the total aggregate value of all bonuses and/or penalties that are applied to the character's to hit roll. This value is also usually reflected in the difference between the character's THACO and base THACO on the character page. However, certain bonuses or penalties will show in the value Y that don't show on the THACOs on the Character Record, such as off handed attack penalties. Also - weapon versus armor type bonuses and penalties are also applied to Y. Reading dialogue stored in the buffer: In many cases, you may want to scroll up through the dialogue in the text window. If you find that game messages are interfering with this (the window will reset to display new messages), hold down the left mouse button while using the slider. While the left mouse button is depressed, you will not be returned to view the new messages. Alternatively, pause the game with the space bar or by clicking on the clock at the lower left - new messages will not appear while the game is paused. Dual Classing - Required Attributes: When you dual class a character, you must possess the attributes required to be able to dual class to that new class. If you do not see the class that you wish to dual class to in the available classes (i.e., it is dimmed out), then this means that your character does not possess the required attribute(s) for that class. However, any classes to which the character CAN dual class WILL always be displayed as available. Pre-order content pack information: Part of the promotional program for Baldur's Gate II included the distribution of specialized game content packages with specific retailers for special customers that pre-ordered Baldur's Gate II. These packages contain additional game items that can be purchased in certain stores within the game world. Note: These items are NOT required for completing the game and there are equivalently powerful items available in the rest of the game - the items that are added in the presell CD's are however, interesting and different items to try out. During multiplayer games, the items available in these content packs will be available to players ONLY if the content pack is installed on the server, in which case all players will have access to the items. If one of the clients has the pack and the server does not, the client will not be able to purchase the special items. Character Viewer (CharView.exe): Provided with Baldur's Gate II is a Character Viewer utility created at BioWare for reviewing character statistics and printing character record sheets. The Character Viewer can be found in the root of your install directory. You can use the Character Viewer to load an exported CHR file (you can export your main character from the in-game character record with the Export command). (The character viewer is NOT able to extract characters from save game files). Under the File heading, use the Open command to choose a character to view. The character viewer does not allow modification or saving of the character data to another character file. Nor does it allow you to identify items in your inventory that are currently unidentified. How to Use: 1. While playing Baldur's Gate II, go to the Record Screen 2. Select your character from the list on the right, if your character's info is not showing. 3. Click on the "Export" button. 4. You will be asked for an exported character filename. Type one in and click on "Done". Your character will be exported to the "Characters" subdirectory of Baldur's Gate II with the extension ".CHR". 5. Exit the Baldur's GateII program. 6. Run charview.exe from the same directory as Baldur's Gate II. 7. Select Open from the File menu, and choose a character to view. 8. You can now look at the character's statistics. For a printed out character sheet, select Print from the File menu. To create a text file of the character information which you can use to create your own character sheet, select "Save As" from the "File" menu. Please note that the Baldur's Gate II Character Viewer does not officially support character files from the original Baldur's Gate game or Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack. If you wish to use the Baldur's Gate II Character Viewer with character files from those products, please import them into Baldur's Gate II and then re-export them. You can then load the character files into the Character Viewer as described above. Miscellaneous: There is a Wizards of the Coast character creation utility that is on the first CD in the WOTCchvr directory. This utility is optional and allows you to check out third edition AD&D characters if you so choose. Using Items in BG2: Rechargeable vs. Limited Use items A rechargeable item will recharge after a rest. The ring of invisibility, for example, has one charge per day (i.e. one rest). After using it for the day the item will be drained. Resting will restore functionality to the item. Certain items such as wands are created with a limited number of charges. When these items run out of charges the item is destroyed. For example, a mage finds a wand of fireballs (with one charge remaining) and uses it against a horde of rampaging kobolds. After the fireball is fired the wand will be destroyed. Rechargeable Item types Quickslot Items: These items appear in the quickslots on the mainscreen GUI. These are items that can't be placed into any of the other inventory slots, such as ring, boot or weapon slots. If an item is placed in a quickslot and does not have any charges remaining for the day it will not appear on the main screen toolbar, although it will appear on the inventory page. If an item in a quickslot has only one charge remaining and is then used the item's icon will fade from the main screen toolbar (but the item will remain visible on the inventory page). This is just to demonstrate that the item no longer has any uses for the day. If a drained item is placed in a quick-slot, the icon will appear on the main screen toolbar but disappear if an attempt is made to use it. * Example: A bard uses his Horn of Blasting (which had only one charge remaining). The icon would then disappear from the main screen toolbar, but still be visible in the inventory page quickslot. After resting it would become useable again. Use Items: The abilities of these items are accessed through the belt-pouch icon on the main screen toolbar. These are items that can be placed in an existing inventory slot (boot, helmet, weapon). Clicking on the belt-pouch icon on the main screen toolbar will give a player access to all of the abilities made available through his character's equipped items. These ability icons will have their charges listed in the bottom left corner. When there are no charges left, the icon remains, but any attempt to use the item gives the message 'Item Drained'. * Example: The ring of invisibility has one charge per day. When a player goes to use it, the item icon will display 1 charge. After using the ring it will have no more charges for the day. Clicking on it again will result in the message 'Item Drained' 2a. Design Notes * NPCs are sometimes removed from the game world. NPCs in the game often need to become inactive to preserve the integrity of the storyline. These characters will attempt to leave the current area they are in via an exit. If they cannot find one or are blocked, we remove them from the map and they effectively vanish. This is not a bug - just how we have dealt with the need to remove them. * Magic Resistance Magic Resistance affects only hostile spells and magic directed toward your character. A character with magic resistance will have a chance of resisting hostile magical attacks, but he or she will always be affected by positive magics cast by party members such as healing spells. Note, this is very different from the way magic resistance behaved in the original Baldur's Gate. * Spells not affecting Party Members and Neutrals Several spells are completely ineffective against party members or neutral characters. Examples of these spells include Sleep, and Hold Person. These spells do not affect neutral or friendly characters because they are area affect spells. In testing, we found it was extremely frustrating when the spells affected the party accidentally. In order to make these spells worthwhile, we have made them only affect hostile characters. * NPCs initiating dialogue with Invisible/"in shadows" characters. You will find that some NPCs in the game will initiate dialogue when you should not be seen by them. In order to ensure that the player receives all critical game dialogue, all game critical dialogue will be received. Also note however that a number of high level creatures have the ability to see hidden or invisible creatures. * Unjoined NPCs not worth XP. NPCs who can join your party are not worth XP if killed. This is not a bug. * Items transferred to the ground. If your character's inventory is full, and an NPC gives you an item, you will receive a message about the party receiving an item, and your character will say that an item has been dropped. The item given to you will appear in your inventory, while the first item in your inventory slot will be dropped on the ground at the feet of the player character that received the item. *Pausing during inventory Please note that in Baldur's Gate II we have chosen to have all Interface Screens (for example the Journal Page and Character Record) pause the action in the game world when they are accessed, including the Inventory Screen. This is a departure from Baldur's Gate, but it was necessary for a number of reasons, both game play and technical. However, to balance AD&D rules, we do NOT allow PC's to change armor if you are 'in combat'. (You are considered 'in combat' if hostile characters are nearby -- this is the same way we determine whether you can save the game or not). *Proficiencies and Dual Wielding Please note that bonus attacks gained from high weapon proficiencies will only affect the weapon in the character's right hand. * Quick Weapon Switching Problems If you use Range scripts with AI activated for your characters, there is an instance where problems might occur. When you run out of ammunition for your missile weapon and enter melee combat, your character will choose his or her most powerful melee weapon. This may cause your character to change from one melee weapon to another under certain circumstances. The most powerful melee weapon is the one delivering the most damage - note this might not be the one you would prefer to use in all cases as it doesn't consider certain magical effects. You can always choose a new weapon by clicking on the quick weapon icon you want to use. ------------------------------ 3. Manual Errata and Omissions ------------------------------ Page 126 Invisibility 10' Radius has the incorrect icon. The correct icon is used on the Reference Card. Page Number 238 Reputation Table: The values for raising reputation are incorrect for reputations of 13 and 14. It should be 1200 for 13 and 1500 for 14. Credits: Reference Card written and compiled by Damien Foletto Dave Clarke, the voice of Jon Irenicus in the final movie. Todd Grenier was also responsible for Promotional Art Quality Assurance Testing: Ismael Quijano Alendor "Zack" Vulaj Chris Cruz Brendan Johnson Matt Monaco Vince Carino Mike Bunnell Giovanni Ornellas John Goudrault Scott Taylor John Boomershine Austin Williams Kevin Miller Foreign Language Testing: Rafael Lopez - Spanish Luca Pignataro - Italian Julien Bonnefond - French Kevin Yee - German Rolf Busch - German Customer Service Testing: David Webb Brock Heinz James "Polecat" Kompare David "Chewey" Farias Homer Parker IV ------------------ 4. TroubleShooting ------------------ 4a. Tweaking Performance Increasing Performance: Translucent Shadows. In the options menu under 'Graphics', turn off translucent shadows. Turning this off will cause all shadows to appear solid, rather than blending a dark shadow onto the background which will be faster. Character Movement Sounds. In the options menu under 'Sound/Character Sound', turn off Character Movement Sounds. Turning off this option will increase the speed of the game. Other Audio. Turning off any of the audio may result in a performance increase. Moving the sliders in the options menu under 'Sound' all the way to the left will completely disable the playing of these sounds and should increase gameplay speed. For slower machines this can be a good compromise in order to maintain framerate. Virtual Memory. Note: WE DO NOT RECOMMEND ADJUSTING YOUR VIRTUAL MEMORY unless you fully understand how virtual memory affects your computer. Baldur's Gate II will eagerly use up any Virtual Memory (hard drive) and non-Virtual Memory (RAM) you allocate to it. If you choose to add more memory to your system, or increase the size of your Windows swap file, the game speed MAY increase. However, as you increase your Virtual Memory, expect longer clearing times to remove this 'Virtual Memory' from the hard drive after the game is terminated. Things that will Decrease Performance: Brightness/Contrast. Adjusting the default settings for these options (located in the options menu under 'Graphics') will result in a performance hit. If you find the game is too dark, we suggest adjusting your monitors brightness first, and adjusting the brightness slider second. DirectX(tm) Hardware Calls. In the options menu under 'Graphics' there are three toggles for various 'BLTS'. Enabling these will result in a (sometimes drastic) performance hit. We recommend enabling these only if you have graphics glitches that you have been unable to resolve. Sometimes turning one of these settings on can actually IMPROVE performance - this usually occurs only if your video card drivers are not 100% DirectX(tm) compliant. You can check if your video card drivers are DirectX(tm) compliant by running the DirectX(tm) Diagnostic tool (DXDiag) that should be installed by the Microsoft(r) installer for DirectX(tm) when you install DirectX(tm). Running the game in Windowed Mode. Running the game in a Window on your desktop will decrease the overall game performance. Pathing Performance: To increase the path searching AI, the following entry can either be directly modified in the baldur.ini file that is installed in the root of the installation directory, or changed using the configuration program: [Program Options] Path Search Nodes=4000 To increase or decrease the AI, vary the number of Nodes (4000 above). The range can vary from 4000 to 400,000. Increasing the number above will increase the number of nodes in path searching with the possibility of slowing down the functioning of the game. Increasing the number of search nodes can significantly improve pathfinding. We have also added an enhanced pathfinding option that, when activated, improved pathing, but at a performance cost. We recommend you only turn on enhanced pathfinding if you have an above average machine. Matrox G400 If you are using this card, having Dual-Head enabled will slow down the game considerably. We suggest disabling this while playing Baldur's Gate II. Hard Drive Defragmentation You should regularly defragment your hard drive, as fragmentation can result in poor performance. 4b. Known Problems * Graphic Errors Some video cards may experience graphics glitches while playing the game. These problems are caused by DirectX Hardware Calls to your video card that are not functioning. We have written software renderers for all of these calls to allow people to play even with drivers that are not 100% compatible with the DirectX standards. You can enable a software render for these calls if you have the most recent drivers for your video card and are still experiencing problems. Using the software render will probably fix the graphic glitches, but it WILL result in a performance hit. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE GRAPHICAL DISPLAY OF BALDUR'S GATE II, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF YOUR VIDEO DRIVERS. DRIVER UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE AT MOST (if not all) HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS AND CHIPSET MANUFACTURERS SITES ON THE INTERNET. You may also try installing DirectX 7.0+ if you are experiencing graphical problems. If you have the most recent drivers for your video card, and you are still experiencing problems, you can enable software renders for these calls. The options are available in the options menu under 'Graphics'. The following list describes the known graphics glitches and which Call should be disabled to fix them. If in doubt, try different combinations and this may help. You can always turn off all software renders to return to the default settings. ------------------------------------------------------------ Glitch Disable ------------------------------------------------------------ Green boxes surrounding Software Transparent BLT any object in the game Box surrounding mouse Try All 3 Methods cursor Animations appearing Software Mirror BLT 'reversed' -Fog-of-War appears in a 'semi- checkerboard' pattern Fog-of-War has edges Try All 3 Methods that look 'spiky' Vertical lines down Software Standard BLT the main game screen The game Cursor is Try All 3 Methods leaving 'artifacts' of itself on the game screen Any other non-resolved Try All 3 Methods graphics problem Specific Video Cards and Fixes (also see 4c. 3D Compatibility, below) ------------------------------------------------------------ Matrox Millennium (1) : Enable Software Mirror and Software Transparent BLTs. 3D Labs Permidia : Enable Software Standard BLT. * Minimizing Baldur's Gate II If you minimize Baldur's Gate II using either Alt-Enter or Alt-Tab (and then bring it back up by left clicking on the minimized application), the sound effects for the game will stutter, loop, and skip. This is caused by a lack of resources available to Baldur's Gate II after you go from full screen to a minimized screen, and it will correct itself after a short period of time. If you minimize Baldur's Gate II and then bring it back up, the game may run more slowly for a time. This is caused by the game re-accessing resources that become tied up by minimization. Running the game in a window may result in lower performance overall. * NT 4.0: Screen-Saver While running under Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3, we have experienced intermittent problems with Screen Savers. We recommend disabling your Screen Saver while playing Baldur's Gate II. * Taskbar problems If you find the Windows taskbar is sitting on top of Baldur's Gate 2 (note: this is a very rare problem), access the Windows Start menu Settings section, and choose the Taskbar option. In the Taskbar menu check the Autohide choice, and make sure the Always on Top choice is not selected. This will eliminate any Taskbar problems that exist. * SoundBlaster Live Overlay Bar As above, the SoundBlaster Live overlay bar can sometimes interfere with Baldur's Gate 2 - turn if off prior to beginning the game by choosing the "EXIT" option from the leftmost menu on the bar. 4c. 3D Compatibility Baldur's Gate II uses 3D cards for enhanced graphics capability. BG2 does not require 3D acceleration but the 3D graphics enhance the gameplay experience. To access the 3D graphic capability of BG2 click the 3D option box on the Basic menu in the BGconfig program. Access the Advanced menu for additional 3D options. Baldur's Gate II uses OpenGL for its acceleration. Included with Baldur's Gate II is GLSetup, a program that ensures your computer has the most recent OpenGL drivers. Run this program by pressing the 3D Setup button next to the Use 3D Acceleration tag. This will start GLSetup - follow the included instructions. If you are using any 3dfx card from the Voodoo family, after checking the 3D checkbox from the Basic tab in the BG Config program you will need to click on the Graphics tab. In the graphics submenu change the video driver from Default OpenGL to 3dfx OpenGL, and make sure that you have turned off 32 Bit textures. If you have any problem with 3D support and Baldur's Gate II we recommend you turn off 3D acceleration; the game works just fine without it. Known Issues Known Graphics Issues: This section describes results of our compatibility testing, and advises you on the correct choice of modes and fixes for various video cards. General Workarounds: With some of the driver issues that were encountered there are two general workarounds for most graphical glitches. The first method is to start the game in a window, then to switch to fullscreen within the game. The other method is to Alt+Tab back to Windows, then Alt+Tab back to Baldur's Gate 2. 2D Mode: 2D mode works for all video cards in all operating systems for which drivers exist. 3dfx Voodoo Banshee: There is a general issue with some Voodoo cards not resetting the desktop when exiting Baldur's Gate 2. The computer will have seemed to lock up on a black screen when in fact it is still running, just not displaying the desktop. This is a driver issue. For the Voodoo Banshee, you must have 32 bit textures turned off for the game to display correctly. The Voodoo Banshee does not display correctly in Windows NT. 3dfx Voodoo 1: For the Voodoo 1, you must have 32 bit textures turned off for the game to display correctly. 3dfx Voodoo 2: For the Voodoo 2, you must have 32 bit textures turned off for the game to display correctly. 3dfx Voodoo 3: There is a general issue with some Voodoo cards not resetting the desktop when exiting Baldur's Gate 2. The computer will have seemed to lock up on a black screen when in fact it is still running, just not displaying the desktop. This is a driver issue. For the Voodoo 3, you must have 32 bit textures turned off for the game to display correctly. 3dfx Voodoo 5: There is a general issue with some Voodoo cards not resetting the desktop when exiting Baldur's Gate 2. The computer will have seemed to lock up on a black screen when in fact it is still running, just not displaying the desktop. This is a driver issue. ATI Radeon: No known issues. ATI Rage 128: The game crashes in 3D mode in Windows ME and Windows NT and will not run. This is a driver issue. ATI Rage Fury Maxx: No known issues. ATI Rage Pro Turbo Very slow performance in 3D. Intel i740: Very slow performance in 3D. "Backwards Compatible 3D=1" must be set in the Baldur.ini file under [Program Options] for this card to display properly. Matrox G200: Very slow performance in 3D. "Backwards Compatible 3D=1" must be set in the Baldur.ini file under [Program Options] for this card to display properly. Matrox G400: Very slow performance in 3D. "Backwards Compatible 3D=1" must be set in the Baldur.ini file under [Program Options] for this card to display properly. Number 9: Very slow performance in 3D. NVIDIA TNT, TNT2, TNT2Ultra, GeForce, GeForce2: No known issues. NVIDIA Rive 128: Very slow performance in 3D. Permedia 2: Fails in 3D for all operating systems. This is a limitation of the video card. Rendition V1000: No 3D drivers exist. 2D mode works. Rendition V2x00: 3D works in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME. There are no drivers for Windows NT or Windows 2000. S3 Savage 4: 3D does not work with Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows NT. Windows 2000 worked fine. This is a driver issue. S3 Savage 2000: 3D works in all operating systems expect for Windows 95. This is a driver issue. 4d. Multiplayer Baldur's Gate 2 has enhanced multiplayer support in comparison to the original Baldur's Gate. We have spent significant time improving the overall gameplay experience and strongly encourage users to give it a try. Here are a few of the things you should be aware of if you are attempting to play a multiplayer game of Baldur's Gate 2: - You must install either a Recommended or Full Install to play in multiplayer mode. - If you are finding slow load times you should increase you cache size to the largest possible size you can fit on your hard drive - this will cause areas to be stored on the hard drive when possible rather than always loading them off CD. You will need a minimum of 300 MB for cache for multiplayer. - Make sure your game options such as AI updates and Framerates are identical on all systems in the game. Baldur's Gate 2 should not allow you to play without synchronization of these elements, but it is easier to synchronize them prior to a game. - If you are having performance problems during multiplayer review your configuration using the BG Config program. Multiplayer games put additional stress on performance and thus you might need to alter your configuration settings. Multiplayer Using a Proxy Server When playing Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn through a proxy server, you have only two options: you can have all players behind the proxy server, or you can have one person behind the proxy server with the other players outside the proxy server. You must also set up the proxy server to work with the Direct X networking protocol. Make sure you have the ports 2300-2400 and 47624 set up on the server for both "inbound" and "outbound" messages on both "TCP" and "UDP" protocols. Miscellaneous Multiplayer Issues: (Rare bug) Occasionally a resurrected character will no longer have a green circle underneath nor be able to explore new terrain for players other than the player who is controlling that character. Saving the game and reloading, exiting to a new area, or exporting/reimporting that character have always fixed this problem when it occurred in testing (unknown cause, very rare). ----------------------------------------- 5. Interplay Customer Service Information ----------------------------------------- This information is only valid in North America. TECHNICAL SUPPORT TROUBLESHOOTING DOCUMENTS ONLINE! Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support now offers troubleshooting guides with complete installation and setup instructions as well as information that will help you overcome the most common difficulties. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can find these at: www.interplay.com/support/ Here you will find troubleshooting information on as well as information on regular system maintenance and performance. DirectX www.interplay.com/support/directx/ Joysticks www.interplay.com/support/joystick/ Modems and Networks www.interplay.com/support/modem/ (For game-specific information and additional troubleshooting, visit our main page at www.interplay.com) If you have questions about the program, our Technical Support Department can help. Our web site contains up-to-date information on the most common difficulties with our products, and this information is the same as that used by our product support technicians. We keep the product support pages updated on a regular basis, so please check here first for no-wait solutions: www.interplay.com/support/ If you are unable to find the information you need on our web site, please feel free to contact Technical Support via e-mail, phone, fax, or letter. Please be sure to include the following information in your e-mail message, fax, or letter: Title of Game Computer manufacturer * Operating system (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98, etc.) CPU type and speed in MHz Amount of RAM Sound card type and settings (address, IRQ, DMA) Video card CD-ROM Mouse driver and version Joystick and game card (if any) A copy of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files from your hard drive. A description of the problem you're having. If you need to talk to someone immediately, call us at (949) 553-6678 Monday through Friday between 8:00AM-5:45PM, Pacific Standard Time with 24 hours, 7 days a week support available through the use of our automated wizard. Please have the above information ready when you call. This will help us answer your question in the shortest possible time. When you call you will initially be connected with our automated wizard. For information pertaining to your specific title, press "1" on the main menu and listen carefully to all prompts. All titles are listed alphabetically. After you have selected your title, the most common difficulties will be listed. If the difficulty you are having is not listed or you need additional assistance, you may press "0" on your games main menu, and you will be transferred to a Technical Support Representative. No hints or codes are available from this line. You must call Interplay's HINT Line for hints, tips, or codes at 1-900-370-PLAY (1-900-451-6869 $1.25 in Canada only). You must be 18 years +, have a touch-tone phone, and the cost is $0.95 per minute. Interplay Entertainment Corp. Support Fax: (949) 252-2820 Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support 16815 Von Karman Avenue Irvine, CA 92606 HOW TO REACH US ONLINE INTERNET E-MAIL: support@interplay.com WORLD WIDE WEB: www.interplay.com FTP: ftp.interplay.com -------------------- 6. Legal Information -------------------- SOFTWARE USE LIMITATIONS AND LIMITED LICENSE GENERAL PRODUCT LICENSE. This copy of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (the Software) is intended solely for your personal noncommercial home entertainment use. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Software, except as permitted by law. Interplay Entertainment Corp. and BioWare Corp. retain all right, title and interest in the Software including all intellectual property rights embodied therein and derivatives thereof. The Software, including, without limitation, all code, data structures, characters, images, sounds, text, screens, game play, derivative works and all other elements of the Software may not be copied, resold, rented, leased, distributed (electronically or otherwise), used on pay-per-play, coin-op or other for-charge basis, or for any commercial purpose. Any permissions granted herein are provided on a temporary basis and can be withdrawn by Interplay Entertainment Corp. at any time. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. MODEM AND NETWORK PLAY. If the Software contains modem or network play, you may play the Software via modem transmission with another person or persons directly without transmission through a third party service or indirectly through a third party service only if such service is an authorized licensee of Interplay. For the purposes of this license, a third party service refers to any third party service which provides a connection between two or more users of the Software, manages, organizes, or facilitates game play, translates protocols, or otherwise provides a service which commercially exploits the Software, but does not include a third party service which merely provides a telephonic connection (and nothing more) for modem or network play. Authorized licensee services are listed on the Interplay World Wide Web Site located at http://www.interplay.com. This limited right to transmit the Software expressly excludes any transmission of the Software or any data streams thereof on a commercial basis, including, without limitation, transmitting the Software by way of a commercial service (excepting those specific commercial services licensed by Interplay) which translates the protocols or manages or organizes game play sessions. If you would like information about obtaining a pay-for-play or commercial license to the Software, please call Interplay Entertainment Corp. in the US at +(949) 553-6655. ACCEPTANCE OF LICENSE TERMS. By acquiring and retaining this Software, you assent to the terms and restrictions of this limited license. If you do not accept the terms of this limited license, you must return the Software together with all packaging, manuals and other material contained therein to the store where you acquired the Software for a full refund. =============================================================== BALDUR'S GATE II: SHADOWS OF AMN Developed and (c)2000 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Shadows of Amn, Tales of the Sword Coast, Forgotten Realms, the Forgotten Realms logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the AD&D logo, TSR and the TSR logo, and the Wizards of the Coast logo, are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and are use by Interplay Entertainment Corp. under license. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are the trademarks of BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Entertainment Corp. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. ================================================================= End of File